Armed With Weakness
by Aisha Kaltinera
Summary: Maddie Williams has always known the importance of her father's work, but this is the first time she has ever been so involved. But how dangerous can Italy be? PruCan, side pairings as they come.
1. Chapter 1

"_**Women are never stronger than when they arm themselves with their weakness.**_**" ~Marie de Vichy-Chamrond, Marquise du Deffand,**_**Letters to Voltaire**_

**"**_**Canada is like a bird- it likes to fly freely.**_**" -Anonymous**

_**"We want to explore. We're curious people. Look back over history, people have put their lives at stake to go out and explore ... We believe in what we're doing. Now it's time to go."**_**- Eileen Collins**

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><p>Gilbert, Maddie thought, was an idiot. And a bad boyfriend. She should break up with him. He had promised to take her home, because he knew how much she hated walking, and he<em> wasn't here.<em>

Madeline stood outside her high school, backpack slung over her shoulder, waiting impatiently for her boyfriend's arrival – which, at this rate, would not be soon. Just as Maddie was beginning to think about calling someone to get her, or even taking the bus, a car pulled up in front of her.

It was not Gilbert's car, and the man driving was certainly not Gilbert.

"Wow, Lars, I didn't know you could drive. Did Bella finally get you away from your pot long enough to learn?" Maddie teased her friend as she stepped up to the open window.

"Nice to see you too, bitch. Man, the things I do for friends. Get in the car, you brat," the Dutch boy retorted, blond hair spiky enough to brush against the roof as he leaned back to open the door.

"I dunno, Mommy always told me to never get into cars with strangers. Especially the ones that insult me," Maddie countered, trying not to giggle. Lars acted all tough, but he was really soft for girls, and for old friends.

It felt a bit weird to 'switch' personalities like this, but Maddie had always believed in being herself around her friends, and if sometimes she went a bit far from her normal personality, well, they couldn't blame her. It was hard being polite all the time.

"Well, I've got another stranger in here with me, if you want more than my charms."

"That changes things," Maddie said as she slid in the backseat, dumping her bag on the floor. Lars grumbled under his breath for a moment, before reaching back again to close the door behind her. A small amount of contortionism later, he finally had it, to the tune of female giggles in the backseat.

"Yeah yeah, quiet in the back!" Lars shouted, adjusting his rear-view mirror, before jerkily pulling out into the street. "Hey! No hitting the driver."

"Well that's what you get for jarring us around, isn't that right, Katya?" came Maddie's voice. Katya giggled, large chest bouncing with the movement.

"I think so, Maddie, in fact... wait, whose phone is ringing?" Maddie looked around, trying to recognize the tune. Then it hit her.

"Oh! Oh, that's my phone! Sorry!" Maddie dove for her bag, and answered quickly. "Hello, Madeline speaking. Oh, hi Papa!"

Pleasantries over, her dad explained his call, which was pretty much 'I need you at work, can you come help me out at a meeting?.' Or, rather: 'I can't trust your sister, get over here.'

"'Kay, I'm in the car now, I'll be there in – let me check… Lars?" Maddie asked, leaning forward. He grunted. "How long would it take you to drive me to work?"

Lars sighed. "Considering traffic? I'd say about 20 minutes, 25 tops."

"Did you catch that?" Maddie asked her papa.

_"Yes."_

"When does the meeting start?"

_"An hour, I figured I would have enough time to give you a run-down of what's going on."_

"Okay, bye Papa."

_"Bye, pumpkin."_

Maddie hung up her phone before groaning and leaning into Katya's shoulder. "I haaaaaate helping Papa at work, he's so formal."

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Katya soothed, stroking the other girl's hair. "Maybe it's a surprise party for you?"

"Doubt it."

"Lars!" Katyusha shot him a look reminiscent of a mother glaring at her child.

"Yekatrina!" Lars mocked, trying to ignore the Mom Look that she was so good at, and failing. To occupy himself, he made an abrupt lane change that probably wasn't necessary for another half mile.

"Ow!" That was Katya, definitely.

"Hey!" And that was Maddie, who was now rubbing her head. "That was totally not cool! I've got a math test _and _hockey practice tomorrow, I can't afford to lose brain cells."

"Sorry, _princess_, I'll be more careful, scout's honor."

"You were a boy scout?" asked Katya, eyes wide with surprise.

"No." Lars snorted, irately honking his horn as some guy in a flashy red car passed him, before saying several presumably unkind things in Dutch.

(It could be hard to tell, though. When they were younger, Katya and Lars often spoke in their native tongues of Dutch and Russian, and the languages had sounded terrible to Maddie. It took years for Lars to admit to her that all he had been saying were things like 'the notebook is blue' and 'the tree is over there', not cussing out her best friend.)

Soon enough, Lars pulled up in front of the floral shop. Lars didn't even bother to park, instead idling at the curb for a split second and screeching away even before Maddie had fully stepped out of the car. "Goodbye to you too, asshole," she muttered.

The flower shop was reassuringly unchanging. It seemed rather crowded, although there weren't as many people as usual. She suspected claustrophobia, before it dawned on her that it was simply the sheer number of bouquets in the store.

Roses. Tulips. Lots of red everywhere. Almost Valentine's Day, now that she thought about it. Walking past the explosions of crimson made her think of blood – a rather appropriate overtone for the muffled shouting coming from the glorified closet known as the 'Employee Lounge'.

"Artie, why do you have to be like this? I don't get it, you don't care when _Maddie _goes out, why am I so different?" Her sister's whining was clear, even through the door.

The only sound from Artie, commonly known as 'Arthur', was angry spluttering – which wasn't all that unusual, when he was talking with her twin. A paragon of elegance anywhere else, but with her sister, he was every inch the nervous teenage boy.

Allison made a lot of boys nervous, it was how she was. Beautiful, charismatic, intelligent (despite all evidence to the contrary), and completely clueless. It was enough to make Maddie jealous, when they were younger, because all the boys forgot her in favor of her twin – until she realized that Ally was so utterly oblivious to it all that she thought they all wanted to be friends with her. It was a wonder that she ever made it through high school.

"Ally," Maddie said, opening the door, hoping to stop the argument before it started. And then her sister's appearance registered. After about a minute of wide-eyed staring, Maddie began to fidget, turning around to leave.

"Madeline," Arthur suddenly grabbed her shoulder. "I need to ask you something, would you let Allison go out tonight to a club wearing that?" 'That' was booty shorts, a white tie crop top, and a pair of strappy high heels. She raised an eyebrow.

"You know, sis, last I checked, you weren't a hooker."

Ally pouted at her sister, then sulkily looked away and crossed her arms over her (ample) chest. "I see how it is. I show a little bit of skin, and you all freak out."

"I-it's not that! Bloody hell! I don't want you to get hurt, and you will, wearing clothes like that!" Arthur sounded both resigned and desperate.

"Ally, you've got to man the front desk, can you two please argue over it later?" Maddie pleaded, giving her best puppy-dog eyes.

"Uh, oops? Sor-_ry_." Ally didn't look very sorry, but left to work the counter anyways.

"Sorry, Arthur, but I don't think you'll change her mind, see you tomorrow?"

"Oh, yeah, course," Arthur replied distractedly, staring after her twin.

Maddie left Arthur to his mooning, and went into her papa's office to find him poring over papers while waiting for her. "Sorry I'm late, had to break up a fight between Ally and Arthur."

Her papa 'hmm'd in response without looking up. He was looking over several files at once, a concerned expression on his face. "Come here, child, tell me what you see."

Maddie drifted over to stand next to him, and gave the scattered papers a once-over. Finances, travel reports, mission reports – with one recurring theme. She furrowed her brow. "Italy? I thought we were getting along with them." All of the papers either seemed to be about traveling back and forth to spy in Italy, or money spent in it. "Didn't we make up with them?"

Papa sharply glanced up to give her a look that said far more than his words. "You've got to learn the difference between 'getting along' and _actually_getting along," he scolded. "Soon you'll be old enough to take over, you can't be so naive!"

"Sorry, father," Maddie whispered, a bit put out. It wasn't _her_ fault that she didn't know all the details of how the Shop worked. She was barely sixteen._But doing it since about six, _a traitorous part of her mind hissed. She almost flinched.

To be truthful, they had wanted Ally to be heir. It wasn't all that bad of an assumption, really, because people liked Ally and Ally liked people and had such a loud, commanding presence that she seemed a natural leader.

Originally, Maddie had been heir, birth order and all that, but it then they had chosen Ally after a particularly daring deal she had made. Then back to Maddie when she had managed to defend one of their warehouses from a gang. Then back to Ally three years ago, then back to her again a year ago. At _this_ rate, no one was going to be heir. Maddie wasn't even sure she wanted to be heir.

In fact, Maddie had always assumed that she would be a carrier, or would 'man the front', that sort of thing. She wasn't a leader, people didn't flock to her for her charisma or her savvy. That was Allison, alluring, beautiful Ally.

"I'm sorry, sweetie." Papa sighed, jolting Maddie back to the present as he seemed to droop. "Things have gotten hard lately. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"Oh, it's okay, Papa, I know this kind of stuff can be tough on you," Maddie hastened to reply, beginning to worry. Papa wasn't the type of man to lose control in front of anyone, even his own daughters. This had to be really bad.

"Is that what the meeting is about? The Italians?" Maddie asked, jerking back as her father's head snapped up.

"It is! Ah, we don't have much time! Follow me!" Papa grabbed a briefcase by his desk, and rushed through a side door, Maddie following quickly behind. It was times like that he was most reminiscent of Ally.

Papa used to say that, even though they were twins, Ally somehow managed to be just like him, and Maddie managed to be just like their mother.

It gave her a warm sort of glow to think that she was just like Mom, even if she didn't really see it herself. What she remember of Mama was warm and fuzzy. Baking cookies (which, even if Ally liked more, Maddie did better), going to church in Quebec, the kindly old priest and the stained-glass windows. Homemade dinners and a quietly powerful voice that sang old lullabies or read stories or scared underlings into doing exactly what she wanted when she wanted it.

It terrified Maddie to think that she might have to fill the shoes of her earliest hero.

"Maddie? Do try not to daydream during the meeting, I'll need your full attention."

Maddie snapped out of it, embarrassed. "Sorry. Of course, Papa."

"There's a good girl."

It was, as she expected, a rather boring meeting. Even in the underground, meetings somehow managed to be excruciatingly long to a teenage girl.

But no matter how boring, things were looking bad. After the fall-out between their business and the American-Italian mafia those few years ago, more and more dealers and business partners had drawn out, under the claim that they didn't like the business's practices.

It was just an excuse for fear: fear of the Mafia, and fear of a company even the Mafia found dishonest.

They were on the verge of bankruptcy (as Colin, one of their oldest managers, emphasized with much hand-waving and the occasional table slam) and out of jobs within two years if they couldn't convince the others to come back. They wouldn't come back, however, without the support of the Mafia.

All in all, it looked pretty hopeless. Technically, they had the flower shop, which was, in fact, legal and had a pretty good business, but it could never support them compared to the underground Shop. They would lose everything.

Sitting in her father's office, Maddie wasn't afraid to admit her fear. She wanted to do something, anything. But that wasn't really her character, was it? She was the wallflower, the support. She didn't go charging head-first into situations, didn't, _couldn't _talk her way out of anything, like Ally.

Years later, when she was older and warier, she would understand why her hesitance made her the better leader. She didn't have the charisma of her sister, no, but she had a cool head and a quick mind.

On the other hand, for now she is seventeen and scared to death of the future. It was clear to her that the stress was slowly killing Papa, and she didn't know how they'll survive if he dies too.

"Kitten?" Maddie's head snapped up at the nickname. Her father hadn't called her that in years, and it was disconcerting to hear it now.

"Yes, Papa?"

"I need you to do something for me. It's very important."

"Papa?" He was scaring her. His eyes were looking in her direction, but his expression was blank.

"Your. . . boyfriend," Papa still didn't like Gilbert, which was a shame, because he usually could get along with just about anybody, "goes to Italy with his family each year, yes?"

Where was he going? He knew this already. "Yes, Papa."

"His father is advisor to one of the largest Mafia families in Italy, correct?"

"Yes." It was one of the reasons she had started dating Gilbert, beyond the fact that, when one got past all the complicated political affairs, he could be rather sweet and dorky in his own way.

"I've explained the situation to his father. You will now be going on the trip with them to Italy, ostensibly because you are dating him, and also to try to reconcile our two factions."

Oh. _Oh._ She felt a bit ill. Her? Maddie? Go reconcile her family's business and a powerful Mafiosi family _on their home turf_, because of an incident she barely remembered and knew almost no details on? Oh, this was wonderful.

"But, Papa, I, I don't- I don't understand, why me? Couldn't you send someone else, someone who is, I don't know, a good speaker, and, and charming, like, say, Ally? Why me, I'm not good at those sorts of things, I always mess-"

"Madeline!" Her father shouted, instantly quieting her. He rubbed his temples, hard, and she immediately felt guilty that she had possibly given him a headache.

"I'm sorry, sweet, but it seems that you've made such an impression on Gilbert that Romulus will have no one else." Papa looked so sad, so weary.

He didn't _want_ to send her. It _clicked _in the back of her mind, an epiphany. She was his heir, his oldest, his daughter. But if he wanted to survive, he needed to send her to the lion's den to save everything.

Maddie felt crushed, from the responsibility, from knowing that she had to go, fear or no fear. "I'll go," she whispered, looking more at the floor than her father. Then she lifted her head. "I'll go," Maddie repeated, stronger this time.

Papa lifted his head, a startled expression on his face. "You will? That's wonderful." And he _did _look relieved, so much so that she couldn't help but feel a bit of relief on his behalf.

"But, ah, Papa, before I go, can I get some sort of report, or something, of what happened? I don't really remember what happened," Maddie prompted. After all, she and Ally had been somewhere around 12, and 'too young' to know the nitty-gritty.

"Yes, of course, I'll bring home a report today or tomorrow, alright? I'll tell Frederick the news, expect Gilbert to invite you."

"Alright, Papa," Maddie said, at this point beginning to tune out most of what her Papa said (with renewed energy and great vigor) in favor of trying to imagine Italy. She had heard stories, of course, how lovely it was, how nice the people, how fashionable the society, and, of course, how delicious the food.

It was supposed to be a vacation (albeit a possibly deadly one), right? Why not have a bit of fun?

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><p>AN: Well, first chapter, I hope I did well! Please feel free to leave concrit, but please try to be a bit specific, so I know where to change things, especially things like over-using words or characterization! This is, well, not really my 'first' fanfic, but certainly the only (hopefully) multi-chaptered fanfic I've got going. I'm trying to get my chapters longer, so we'll see how _that _goes.

Also, the 'Shop' is a sort of money laundering/middle-man thing, criminals give them money, the Shop cleans it, and buys, ships and delivers whatever they want to them, whether it be drugs, weapons (mostly weapons) or, in one odd case, boxes. Since this will probably stay in Maddie's POV, this wouldn't be explained at all, or not until near the end, and I wanted to clear any confusion up.

As a last note, I'd like for all of you who want to review, to heap praise upon my amazing beta, FlyingSolo365, who has listened to me ponder, make strange grammar choices and just generally being amazing.


	2. Chapter 2

I am so, so sorry this took so long to get out. My beta, FlyingSolo365, was forced to quit due to some RL issues, and it took me forever to get a new one. That 'new one' would be L. Hawk, who is just as amazing and has really helped me out. I'm working on chapter three, so it shouldn't take nearly so long. I hope you enjoy it!

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><p>Strangely enough, despite the life-shattering news, life went on. Summer break was still a month away, and finals were looming close – which was probably why Maddie was in the library studying for her AP English and math finals, instead of going out with her sister to walk or just be outside.<p>

Teachers, Maddie mentally grumbled as she furiously copied the remarks left on previously graded essays onto one sheet, must loathe their students.

After all, what sane teachers gave – she managed a quick count – _seven page math reviews? _Sheer, sheer evil.

Rather fortunately, Maddie always carried around her faithful iPod, and was now listening to fast-paced pop songs to keep herself awake. Ignoring the sunlight, and other people, and windows showing people that _weren't her_ having _fun, _the blonde got to work.

The side effects of which were that she didn't even notice when Gilbert, eyes flashing and smirking, snuck up behind her until he blew cool air on the nape of her neck.

Maddie let out a muffled shriek, trying to remember that it was a _library_and it was not appropriate to scream loudly. It was, however, appropriate in her mind, to thump Gilbert in the head. "Gil!" she hissed, desperately trying not to attract more attention.

"Maddie!" he mocked back, still grinning, even as he rubbed his head.

The blonde rolled her eyes, but began to pack up. Studying was a lost cause with her boyfriend there. Ignoring Gilbert, she had found, was the best way for him to spill whatever news he had. But apparently, either it wasn't too important or he was trying to build suspense, because he managed to last all the way outside the library, to his car, and all the way to her house, instead blabbering away about god-knows-what as usual.

Maddie found it odd that there was no one home, until she remembered that Ally was out doing theatre stuff ("It's time for poster hanging! We've gotta get the word out!"), and that even though they had no school, her dad still had work. "Sorry that there's no one here, they're all out doing important things." The 'and so was I' was implied but unspoken.

"It's okay. It makes it easier to talk." Gilbert was oddly subdued, and he wasn't making eye contact. Warning bells began to ring in Maddie's head. Papa had said that Gilbert needed to invite her to Italy, but as far as she knew, Gilbert had never invited people with him on his family trips, despite his popularity.

In the almost three years they had dated, including two summers, he had never even mentioned bringing her. Now that his hand was being forced by Romulus, was he going to break up with her?

She hoped not. For all his posturing, Gilbert was a pretty good boyfriend. He remembered important dates, things she liked, and was always on time for things, and actually very loyal.

She blinked, and realized that they had sat down on the living room couch, and Gilbert was staring at her, his ash-blond hair falling into his red eyes.

"Maddie, I know I haven't really talked about it, but you know that every year, my family goes to Rome for the summer?"

"Yeah, you texted me the entire time about how awesome it was," she replied.

"Oh yeah," Gilbert looked contemplative for a moment, head bowed. "But the thing is, we go there for one of my dad's old friends."

She made a noise somewhere between 'please, go on,' and 'what does that have to do with anything?' If her boyfriend understood, he didn't show it.

"Dad said that he wanted you to go on the trip with us," Gilbert looked up, and she could clearly read the indecision and fear in his eyes. It worried her, Gil had never been indecisive for as long as she'd known him. "And he's never done that. Ever. And I'm worried. Because, and you can't tell _anyone_," He looked so adamant that Maddie instantly nodded. "Dad told me a few years ago that Romulus, his friend, was the head of a powerful Mafia group."

His admission blanketed the room in silence. Maddie did her best to look shocked and a little scared. Somehow, even though she knew this, it wasn't very hard to do, because she could read the fear coming off Gilbert. "So why would your dad insist I go with you? Wouldn't having, well, normal, people with you make things harder?" she asked.

Gilbert's tone was bitter when he spoke next. "Apparently, I've dated you for so long, and I've talked about you so much that the old guy just _has_to meet you."

Well, she had thought that Gilbert didn't know anything about his father's Mafia ties, and that he would be more excited. This threw a wrench into things, but she could forge on. She had to. "Well, I'm glad your father's Mafia friend is so pleased with me," Maddie began, grinning, and Gilbert matched it with his own crooked grin. "But I doubt he really wants anything to do with me. He probably just wants to see what girl managed to deal with you for this long."

The blond boy nodded. "Yeah, I guess." He trailed off, then his eyes widened. "Hey! Just because my sheer _awesomeness _offsets some girls doesn't mean you have to deal with me!" Gil reclined into the sofa, nose upturned, trying to look mad.

The look made him come off as rather silly, but Maddie really didn't have the heart to say anything. Scooting closer, she rested her head on his shoulder, one hand coming up to trace nonsense patterns onto his chest. The quiet was soft, almost fragile. In that moment, something shifted, and although Maddie was unsure what it was, or how, she knew instinctively that it was irreversible. "Everything's going to be fine," she lied. "It's not like I'm powerful or amazing at something that he might want in his group, I'm just me."

Gil still looked uncertain, so Maddie leaned up and gave him a chaste kiss, cheeks red even though they were alone in the house (or maybe because of it). Her boyfriend followed her lips even when she pulled away, and kissed her again, less chaste, more hungry. This would have evolved into a really nice session if the door hadn't slammed open _right then _to reveal Ally, beaming, as red as her sister.

"MADDIE." Ally bolted for the couch (leaving the door wide open), and snatched her twin's hands in hers, dragging her to her feet to spin her. "I got it, I got it!"

Dizzy, Maddie tugged her hands away and immediately fell, half on the couch and half on Gilbert, who looked irritated. "Great," Gilbert ground out. "What'd ya get?"

Ally looked close to bursting, happily ignoring her twin's boyfriend's ("future brother-in-law!" "Ally! Will you shut up!?") glare. "The girl who was playing Galinda _quit! _I got her part!" Whatever else Ally had to say was drowned out by her squeals of joy.

"Great, sis, I know how much you wanted the part." 'Know' didn't even cover it. Her twin hadn't shut up about it for weeks. "But go close the door and you can tell us all the sordid little details later."

"Er," Ally looked sheepish. "I can't, Artie's waiting for me, I kinda promised him I would study with him tonight. I just _had _to tell you though. Bye!" With a rush, hurricane Ally was gone.

Gilbert looked down at Maddie for a moment, what with her being in his lap and all, then groaned and flopped his head back. "How many days until we leave for Italy?"

Maddie's laughter rang through the house.

By dinner, the laughter had died, Gilbert had gone home, and Maddie was too distracted by the recap of everything that had gone down five years ago to try to eat her hamburger (courtesy of Ally getting the part she so desperately wanted).

From the sound of it, it was a deal gone bad, that spiraled into madness. Romulus' group wanted weapons, ones they couldn't get in Italy. The Shop had provided. But by the time they were to ship the goods, someone, on one side or the other, had ratted them out. The cops had arrived, and arrests were on both ends of the transactions.

It had been the Shop's first time dealing with the Italian _Cosa Nostra, _and it would be their last. Romulus was furious, refused to listen, and had refused to deal with them again. That refusal had led to him... encouraging more of his business associates to drop them as well.

Maddie could have contemplated this further, she could have even tried to read between the lines and find the truth between the Shop's biased report. She could have, but Ally kicked her in the shin. Valiantly, she ignored it.

"Ow! What was that for?" Maddie yelped as Ally kicked her again_._

"Why didn't you tell me that you were going to Italy over summer break?" Ally whined, pouting like a child.

"I'm going with Gilbert, you know, my _boyfriend_? Besides, I'm going on Shop business, real boring." Maddie always loved playing the boyfriend card, but any mention of business (aka 'boring stuff for old men') always put her twin off.

Except that this time it didn't. Well, things hardly ever went in Madeline's favor, and at this point she accepted it as a fact of life. Allie puffed out her cheeks in an attempt to look angry, and instead (in Maddie's opinion, of course) came off as a squirrel with full cheeks. With such a look on her face, she turned towards their father, who was for once able to sit and eat dinner with them.

"Dad, why does Maddie get to go do, like, _fun _stuff over summer break? She's going to Italy. Italy! I wanna go to Italy!"

"I'm not doing it just to make you unhappy! I have a cause." Noise levels in the house were rising.

"A cause? Who cares about a cause? This is Italy! Do you know how much I've always wanted to go to there?"

"You can't even find it on a map, why would you want to go there?"

"I can to!"

"You thought that all of the Nordic countries were part of Russia, and that England was Spain!"

"I did not!"

"Yes. You did."

"Well, uh, you thought that polar bears lived in Canada!"

"_Girls_." Papa looked irritatedly, but also tiredly, from behind his newspaper (sometimes, Maddie wondered if he only read it to pretend to ignore them, making use of Ally's favorite I-can't-see-them-they-can't-see-me tactic), but also tired.

"Sorry." Both girls mumbled, sinking back down into their seats, as silence reigned again. Awkwardly, Maddie fiddled with the edge of the tablecloth (who had those anymore?), all interest in the report gone.

"So..." Ally piped up an hour later later, in the relative safety of their shared bedroom, a large thing with too many shelves and not enough closet space. "Do I get a souvenir?"

Maddie's only response was to whack her sister in the head with a pillow.

* * *

><p>Rare was the school day when Maddie was up at the same time as her twin, with the sun shining through the curtains. Rarer was the weekend when this sort of thing happened during softball season.<p>

"You're up early for once." Ally chirped, looking far too chipper for six in the morning on a Saturday.

"APUSH review. We've got finals soon, remember? Mr. L is starting it at quarter to eight." Maddie managed to mumble on her way to the shower.

"Sucky." the blonde hopped onto the counter, apparently watching her sister wait for the water to warm.

"What are you still doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at school, running laps, or weights, or whatever it is you do in the morning?"

"Nope!" Ally chirped again, making Maddie wince. "The field's flooded, the game is canceled, and so is practice."

"Flooded? It hasn't rained in _weeks_." Maddie's voice echoed off the tile eerily. Sometimes, she really wished she had her twin's morning personality and hair. Hers might have been prettier, but it was bitch to deal with in the morning. When no answer seemed to be forthcoming, Maddie just assumed that Ally had gotten bored and wandered off. Wouldn't be the first time.

Blessed silence. Quicker then Maddie would have liked, she got out of the shower, blindly groping for the towel. Wiping off her face, she looked up into her twin's smiling face. "CRISSE!" Maddie yelped, nearly smacking her head into the tile. "What are you _doing_?"

"I'm taking the car. Your _boyfriend," _Ally emphasized 'boyfriend', probably still irked from last night, "Will be here to pick you up at seven twenty," was all Ally said, before flouncing out.

In the precious moments it took Maddie to digest this information, Ally managed to sprint downstairs, get the keys, and get out to the car as fast as she could. Like Maddie was going to chase her down wearing a towel. She wasn't stupid.

* * *

><p>Time had flown by like a bird, which was a good expression, but Maddie wished she could think of something a more accurate to her feelings. Like... being run over by a polar bear. Wait, that was bad. Time flewwent quickly like... her third period French IV class with Madame Roux! Too specific... this was harder than she thought.

"Maddie! Maddie!" If the ringing in her ears was any indication, Ally had probably been yelling for a while. Maddie really needed to learn to stop thinking so hard she blocked out the rest of the world. "Maddie!" There she was, doing it again! Then, with a blink, the blonde teen realized that the car wasn't moving, and was, in fact, parked. At the airport.

Airport... Italy! A squeamish mix of anxiety and excitement roiled within her. For a few, blasphemous seconds, Maddie considered forcing her dad to take them home, to fob off an excuse to Gil, to _not go._ But one look at her father's tired, tired eyes (blue, like Ally's eyes, like the sky) guilt-tripped her into silence.

What kind of daughter would she be if she couldn't even try? What kind of reputation in the underworld would that give her, giving up without even setting foot in Italy? Sighing, the blonde teen got out of the car, and nearly collided with her twin. Okay, seriously? Ally looked more excited than she did and Ally wasn't even _going_ anywhere!

Gilbert was quickly found, mostly because as soon as he spotted her, he began a loud litany of 'Maddie Maddie Maddie' occasionally interspersed with 'Over here, Maaaaddieeeeee'. His brother, Ludwig, red as a brick, looked like he was trying to convince the floor to eat him.

Rolling her eyes, Maddie reached up, grabbed the collar of her boyfriend's t-shirt, and pulled him into a kiss. Abruptly, the noise level died down, now that Gil was otherwise occupied. Until two very embarrassed grunts interrupted them. Maddie pulled away, red as a tomato. Oh god, she just started making out with Gilbert (to shut him up, but still) in public, in front of their fathers.

Awkwardly, she made her goodbyes, while one Gilbert Beilshimdt looked very pleased in the background.

Thankfully, the rest of the trip was mundane, even if they nearly didn't get through customs because her boyfriend kept antagonizing security. From the look on his family's faces, this was not new.

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><p>Maddie's first steps in the Leonardo da Vinci airport did not in any way involve tall men in black suits and fedoras stalking their every move. And once she got past the irrational fear of dark suits, she could appreciate it. It was nice, as airports went, and reminded her in some way of San Francisco. But with more Italian influence, obviously.<strong><br>**

As the small group drew ever nearer the entrance (and where Romulus was supposed to pick them up), Maddie got increasingly nervous. Would they be intimidating? Would they bar her from even getting in the car? Would they kidnap her? Her mind began running more and more implausible scenarios, until she was thankfully interrupted.

"Ve~ Ludwig!" A... _thing_ had just given Ludwig a flying tackle hug. The thing, after getting up, revealed itself to be a brunet teen with all the excitable energy of a child. Feliciano ("Ve~ call me Feli, everyone does! Even Luddy, and it took him _ages._") was the same age as Ludwig, liked pasta, Ludwig, painting, his brother, pasta, cute animals, pasta, his father, and pasta.

"I'm so glad you got here on time~ _Fratello_ said that if you didn't hurry, he would go home without us, ve, I don't think he meant it. Are you Maddalena? Of course you are, you're so pretty~ I'm glad Gilbert managed to find a pretty girl, pretty girls are the _best_, right _fratello_?" This last question was directed at another teen that looked very much like Feli, but with darker hair.

'Fratello' looked less pleased and more homicidal. Not a good sign. "Chigi, I hate having to drive you bastards, why did I get stuck with this?"

Feli, now hanging onto Ludwig's arm (Ludwig was red as a brick and determinedly staring at the car.) looked puzzled. "Ve, Romano, didn't you say that you didn't want me to go meet them on my own?" the small Italian looked puzzled, then brightened, looking from Maddie to his brother.

Romano followed his brother's gaze to where she was (hidden as she was behind Gilbert, trying to find something interesting about Frederick methodically loading their luggage into the car). He paused, and was suddenly in front of her.

Before she knew what had happened, he had her hand, his lips a warm caress over her knuckles as he murmured an apology for ignoring her, and escorted her to the car, and opened the door for her. Bewildered, Maddie obediently got in, blushing from head to toe.

Five minutes later, they were all piled in the car, Frederick driving (and being honked at for obeying traffic laws), Ludwig in shotgun, and Maddie sitting in her boyfriend's lap as said boyfriend shot nasty glares at Romano over Feli's head as he babbled on about dinner and pasta and things to do.

"Don't you think Madeline might want to meet the rest of your little troupe of circus friends?" Romano cut in, looking irritated.

"Oh, you're right! She'll never survive if she doesn't meet them!" Gilbert said determinedly. Didn't she get a say in this?

Ludwig made a choking sound in the front seat, looking worried. "Is that safe?"

Feli frowned at his brother, which seemed unnatural on his face, and then pouted. "_Fratello_, that's a mean thing to say," a low litany of _kesesese _started up behind her. Twisting awkwardly in the limited space of the car, Maddie saw that Gilbert looked far more delighted than he had any right to. "I thought you _lik_-" Feli cut off with a shriek as his 'loving' brother tried to choke him, and Romano yelled in Italian.

"Don't worry, Mads, they're cool. Unless Frenchy gropes you, then I'll punch his face in or something, but you should be fine." Maddie felt rather than saw Gilbert nod, and felt a spike of panic lance through her. _Should _be fine? Groping?

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><p>Hi again! If you noticed any grammarcontinuity errors, please say, I always hope to improve. If anyone wants to review with ideas of what they might want to happen next, or characters they want to see, I'd be happy to hear it. Please review, and a thousand thanks to my beta, L. Hawk!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

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><p>The rest of the drive was silent. Maddie did her best to not move or breathe too loudly, even though Feli seemed to have no trouble talking to Ludwig, even with his brother death-glaring at him.<p>

The house they eventually pulled up to was large, ornate in a tasteful way, and utterly intimidating. Gilbert was _friends_ with people here? The rest of the area around the house was immaculate and equally ornate. Delicate creepers on pillars, huge flowering bushes trimmed _just so_. There was a fountain. In the driveway. Okay, it seemed more like a courtyard, but the car was there? It was probably a driveway. There was a terra-cotta roof and white-washed walls.

Honestly, considering how long it had taken to get there and the lack of neighbors, Maddie was pretty willing to call this an _estate_. This place was practically out of a fairytale.

Ignoring it easily, Gilbert ran up the steps, and furiously pounded on the door. Maddie, Feli, Romano and Ludwig were just behind Gil when the door opened to a beautiful Spanish woman, who lit up like the sun when she saw them.

"Gilbert! I haven't seen you in so long~ How have you been, is school nice, did you bring that pretty girl of yours? You talk about her all the time, oh, hi!" The Spaniard turned her attention to Maddie, who suddenly felt very awkward and young next to this beauty. Who, apparently, could break ribs with her hugs. "¡_Hola_! My name is Isabel, you must be Maddie, Gil talks about you all the time, you're so cute, you're just as cute as Feli, do you know Feli? Hey! Feli!" Maddie was let go in favor of the younger Vargas, and tried not to be grateful. After all, Isabel was just trying to be friendly, and it's not like Maddie really needed to breathe _all_ the time. Either way, she doubled over and massaged her sides. A hand pulled her arm from her side, and Maddie looked up to see Gil, faintly pink, twining his hand with hers.

"Yeah, uh, that's Izzy-bella, call her whatever you want, she doesn't really care. We should get inside." Gil's gaze drifted over to Isabel, who was being lectured by Romano, apparently on the necessity of being able to button her own shirts.

The shirt that Romano was now unbuttoning. Maddie squeaked and buried her head in Gil's chest as he snickered. She stomped on his foot. "Shit, ow, okay, okay." Gilbert hissed, then raised his voice. "Oi! I know you two haven't seen each other in a long while, but can we leave the public sex to Franny?"

"What? No, I wasn't, why would you think that?!" Romano shrieked. "She's just an idiot who can't button her own blouse, we aren't, weren't, GAH, I hate you you stupid potato bastard!" Romano shouted as he ran inside the house, followed closely by Isa calling after him, shirt still awkwardly flapping around.

"Ve~ if you keep doing that, _fratello_ is going to draw a mustache on you in your sleep again." Feliciano observed.

"Mustache?" Maddie repeated, bewildered. Maddie pulled her hand away to fist them in her jean's pockets. This was getting very strange, very fast. It was obvious that she didn't know this group, or their in-jokes or strange anecdotes. Maybe it was better if she just sat in the car or something, no need to intrude on-

"_Salut_, _mes amis_, come in, come in, I haven't seen you in so long, Gil, you are looking as uncombed as ever, Ludwig!" Ludwig winced and did his level best to find cover as the strange man advanced on him. "Have you gotten bigger? Ah, youth!" The young man had wavy blond hair, and blue eyes, and the most lecherous expression on his face.

"Hey, get off my brother!" Gil shouted, but there was no heat in his words. Was this the last in their trio? Gil didn't usually take well to people molesting/talking to/dating his brother, so this had to be pretty common for the pale boy to not give a fuck.

"Ve, Maddie, that's big brother Francis, he's a little strange, and French, and Romano always tells me not to talk to him, because he's creepy, I don't think he's creepy, because he always has good advice, especially about pretty girls, which is nice because sometimes pretty girls don't like me being all naïve. What do you think?" Feliciano smiled at her.

"I-I'm not sure? I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to him, so, um..." Maddie let herself trail off, unsure if Feli would accept this as an answer.

"You're right, I didn't think about that. Ve~ FRANCIS, you've got to meet Maddie, she's Gilbert's girlfriend, and she's really pretty, and speaks French, and um, uh, ve!" Feliciano emphasized this by waving madly across the entire five feet separating the two little groups.

"Does she? Well, now you really have to be careful, Gil, or I might whisk her away from you." Francis teased. Frederick had unloaded all of the bags, and there was a moment of confusion as everyone tried to grab their bags.

Actually, Maddie was really glad her duffle rolled, it was making her life a lot easier. That was until there was a hand on her butt and her bag was being smoothly transferred to Francis' care.

"_Ma cherie_, let me show you to your room. Of course, there is an attached bathroom, and a wonderful walk-in closet." Francis looked down at her duffle, which wasn't exactly fit to burst with clothes and hair products, and pursed his lips in a moue.

"We shall have to take you shopping once we get into Rome proper, Isabel and I."

It was very, very hard for Maddie to squash her first instinct, which was to punch Francis in the face for his snooty tone.

"That sounds like fun, but I didn't really bring enough money with me to buy lots of clothes," Maddie apologized, hoping that was the end of that.

"_Quoi_? If _course_ you would not pay for it! It would be like a gift, or a present. Besides, it's not like the family doesn't have the money to spare for one measly day of shopping." The confidence Francis spoke with said that he knew exactly how much money he had to spend.

"Th-that would be very kind of you, but I wouldn't want to impose, oh," Maddie lost her train of thought as they arrived in her room. It was large and airy, with two walls dominated by windows.

"Yes, I'd thought you'd like it, Gil mentioned you were something of an artist?" Francis wheeled her luggage to another door that led into the largest closet Maddie had ever seen.

For a split second, Maddie had the desperate urge to wire all of her money to her debit card and buy enough clothes and shoes and whatever else to fill this space.

"No imposition, _ma chéri,_ in all honesty it would be our darling Gil's money anyways. He won't mind when he see what it went towards," Francis smirked.

Maddie blinked, as her focus shifted from the closet to Francis' words as she looked at him. _Please, _whispered some small part of her mind, _please don't let him mean underwear._

As if he could read her mind, Francis' smirk seemed to intensify.

Oh God, he meant underwear. Maddie nearly shuddered.

"Madeline," Francis began, setting down her bag and losing all pretense at a French accent. "I do not know what you are here for. Romulus made sure to inform Isabel and I of the potential business connection you would try to make, but nothing else." He turned to face her.

"If that is true, and you have been manipulating our dear Gil to integrate yourself in the family, let me be the first to tell you well done."

Maddie blinked, confused, then flinched as Francis' smile turned cold. "And let me also be the first to tell you that I can and will make your life a living nightmare if you've been stringing him along."

Maddie inhaled sharply, squared her shoulders and looked Francis right in the eye. "Look, my father encouraged our relationship because of his ties with Romulus' family. Do you really think I'd date someone for this long without caring for them?"

Francis beamed and pulled her into a hug. "I always did want a little sister."

"What."

"I was worried, to be honest, Gil's stories of you practically sounded like fairy-tales. But it seems like you do care for him, so Isabel and I are delighted to welcome you to the family. Also, I must congratulate you on being his longest relationship." Francis let go and guided her around the room, waving a hand at the large windows and impressive bathroom.

"Well, he can be a little, uh,"

"Obstinate? Obtuse? Methodical? Rage-inducing?" Francis settled against a wall, all trace of hostility gone.

Maddie couldn't stifle her giggles as she replied, "I was going to say _energetic_, but okay, let's go with your words."

"Franny! No fair, you better not be fucking trying to steal my girlfriend!"

"Oh, _ma petite chouchou_, we must run away to Paris!" Francis said dramatically as held her to his chest, while the scent of his aftershave made her sneeze.

Gil's angry face began to break down, and his snarl transformed to a smirk, then to a smile. This was no doubt helped by Francis loud and plaintive wails about how he 'didn't understand their love' and how 'they must run away, to a place where their love wouldn't be questioned!"

"Is this a bad time to ask you if you're secretly thirty or something?" Maddie smiled, trying to take the sting out of her words.

Gil doubled over laughing, the remnants of his anger dissipating. "Okay, whatever. Izzy wanted me to tell you that she's going to make a little snack for us and then we're going shopping for dinner."

Thankfully, Francis had let go of her, eyes lighting up at the prospect of food. Honestly, he looked at lot like Gil at the moment, and with his coloring so close to Ludwig's, Maddie was wondering if they might be cousins of a sort.

"Did she say what she was making? Oh, she better not think I'm going to stay out of the kitchen!" Francis shoved up the shirtsleeves of his already rolled button-down.

Francis almost made it out of the room before Gilbert leant down to Maddie and whispered "The only reason any of us put up with his French ass is because he's an awesome cook. Though not as awesome as you of course." Gil kissed her temple and smirked at her blush.

Francis squawked, whipping around to grab Maddie's arm and yank her with him. However, growing up with a similarly grabby sister had Maddie's response instinctive. She yanked her arm back, pivoted on her heel and let go.

The only problem with this response was that Francis was lighter and weaker than her sister, and went flying into Gil.

There was silence, Francis and Gil in a heap on the floor, and Maddie had her hands over her mouth, horrified.

"Did I mention that my girlfriend is strong as a bull?"

"Somehow you forgot to mention that bit." Francis said dryly as he picked himself off the floor. "My apologies, Madeline, I shall make sure to ask, next time."

"N-no, I'm so sorry, my sister is usually the one who grabs me I'm so sorry, oh my God-"

"That's enough, Madeline, it's fine, though, your sister?" Francis quirked an eyebrow.

"Stronger than me."

"Ah."

"I can make pancakes?"

"Well, I would appreciate it, but I take my breakfast the French way, espresso and a pastry." Francis smiled as he led the way back, presumably, to the kitchen. "However, if you would be so kind, please so make yourself and _cher_ Gilbert breakfast, as he is a terrible heathen and cannot wait to stuff himself in the mornings."

"The only reason you don't is because that sludge of yours is so strong it curdles your stomach."

They seemed to slide instinctively into French, and sniped at each other's eating habits so fast it had to be a well-trod argument.

Which didn't make it any less funny as they entered the kitchen, where Isabel was jotting down a grocery list with one hand while eating a piece of bread with a chocolate spread with the other.

Three more plates were nearby, one with two pieces of toast like Isabel's, one with bread and sausage, and one with one of each. Francis left his argument with Gil to have a new one with Isabel about dinner.

Despite the argument being in English, the dishes being discussed were either in French or Spanish, and her Quebecois French was having a hard time keeping up.

Somehow, they come to an agreement and the empty plates are washed and dried and put away. Then Romano walked in and the entire argument repeated itself.

Finally, everyone has managed to get out the door before realizing that there were six of them and a car that fitted four comfortably. Feli, who had followed after them like a hopeful puppy, looks crushed.

"Look, we've got unpacking to do, you can do the shopping." Everyone exchanged looks of horror at Gil's expression.

"I'll look after him, don't worry." Only Francis looked somewhat mollified, while Romano looked like he would rather have the house be destroyed by an act of God rather than let Gil stay alone or with his girlfriend.

Finally, it was decided that Gil would go, and Maddie and Feli would stay. The little Italian looked so dejected Maddie almost protested until she saw the little smile playing at the edges of his pout.

The reason for the smile was made clear when Feli led the way to a door with a Do Not Disturb sign in five different languages that he ignored and slammed open any way.

Ludwig paused whatever he was listening to, pulled off his headphones, set aside his papers, all in the span of time it took Feli to launch himself at his… friend? Boyfriend? With a shout of glee.

Maddie winced in sympathy as the rolling chair was almost sent straight into the wall.

"Madeline, I would be glad to assist you in unpacking while my son and his… friend," Frederick's face contorted for a moment in an unreadable emotion before continuing, "and answer any questions that you might have about this trip."

There was no arguing with that tone of voice and Maddie meekly followed him to her room, where she began unpacking and Frederick stood at the door like a terrifying sential.

"Uh, sir," Maddie had never really been comfortable talking to Gil's father, who was as cold and implacable as her Papa was warm and messy. "Why me? Why now? There's no reason for Romulus to even be thinking about making a contract with my family."

The tall blond shrugged, his long hair rippling like silk over his shoulders. "You're right. There's really no reason for Romulus to do this. In all actuality, this was probably just an excuse to get to meet you."

"What?" Maddie lifted her head from where she had been arranging her neatly folded pants into a drawer. "Me? What stories has Gil been spreading about me? Everyone's treating me like they half-expected Gil to have made me up!"

"I quite think they were," was Frederick's dry response, "my son does not exactly have a long history of successful relationships, so naturally, the entire family is curious to meet the girl who has so successfully wooed my son."

Maddie went beet red. "Wo-wooed? That's ridiculous. We're in high school for heaven's sake, it wouldn't be strange for either of us to not have a long-term relationship."

"Either way, you were a variable they couldn't figure out, what with you on an entirely different continent and all. To be honest, you'll impress Romulus just by being yourself, so don't worry. At the least, you can make the start of a better relationship between your family and his." And with that Frederick walked out of the room, having filled his talking-to-non-relatives quota for the month.

"I. Thanks. I guess." To be fair, it was a little comforting that Romulus wasn't expecting a great deal out of her or their talk. Dinner. Thing.

Maddie put the rest of her things away and laid on the bed, and tried to figure out how 'being herself' could get a man as powerful as Romulus to change his mind.

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><p>Hey, sorry I haven't updated in so long! To be frank, I over-thought myself into a corner, and I couldn't figure out how to continue the story with a ~reasonable~ and ~plausible~ plot. Also it's been some years, so if you're angry, I can totally understand that.<p>

As a note: I actually know little to nothing of Italian/Spanish/French culture, and have cobbled together what I do know and the magic of Google to add some more authentic touches. If any of you would rather correct me or point out any irregularities, please feel free to PM me or leave a review. Also, the house is rather 'American' in design because Romulus got tired of everyone making subtle complaints about how small it was or cramped or whatever. Not every culture is used to spending evenings out actually doing things or talking to people.

Until next chapter!


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